InstaCart employees fulfill delivery orders
Patrick T. Fallon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Instacart, a third-party delivery company, said on Thursday it would begin same-day deliveries for Family Tree, owned by Dollar Tree, a discount retailer that saw an increase during the pandemic.
The company will deliver online shopping to the homes of customers in the dollar store chain from over 6,000 locations in just one hour.
“Whether we supply the refrigerator or the pantry, improve a home office or a virtual school space, or buy essentials at home, we know that value and accessibility are most important to people across the country,” said Chris Rogers, vice president of retail at Instacart, in a press release.
Large retailers, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Rite Aid, have used Instacart as a way to keep up with online orders during the pandemic and have used it as a faster alternative for customers who would otherwise have to to wait for a package during the crushing of the holiday season.
As many other retailers saw declining sales during the pandemic, dollar stores such as Dollar Tree and Dollar General continued their aggressive expansion plans and had a growing customer base as people sought value during the recession. The Tree Tree Dollar family sells many household commodities, such as food and paper, which are in greater demand as people spend more time at home.
Sales in the same store for Family Dollar increased by 6.4% in the third quarter, ending on October 31, 2020.
Dollar Tree CEO Mike Witynski called the new partnership with Instacart “another example of our efforts to better meet the evolving needs of our Family Dollar buyers.”
However, Instacart has been squeezed out because some retailers are instructing their employees to choose and package orders online, rather than using the third-party service. Walmart recently announced plans to turn some of its stores into local malls that use store automation and store employees to complete online shopping orders.
Last month, Instacart said it plans to reduce about 1,900 job losses for in-store shoppers.